


The Aroma of Love

by FaithAndATypeWriter



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Fluff, Mild Angst to Start Then Funny Fluff, Plagg Could Write an Ode to Camembert, Romantic Comedy, antics
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-09
Updated: 2020-01-09
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:55:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,126
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22182937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FaithAndATypeWriter/pseuds/FaithAndATypeWriter
Summary: Adrien has floundered in his attempts to woo his Lady Love before, but now he finds himself at a new low--a low that will likely spell doom for his romance for life:He took Plagg's romantic advice.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 19
Kudos: 256





	The Aroma of Love

Adrien Agreste became Cat Noir and he fell in love with the tenacious, brave girl that challenged Hawkmoth and all the naysayers that didn’t believe in them. Ever since, he believed the best day of his life would be when he could meet his best friend and partner without their masks--second, perhaps, to defeating Hawkmoth...but then a happy reveal felt more celebratory to him than the solemn celebration of stopping an emotional terrorist.

When the moment came for them to actually reveal themselves to each other, Adrien could scarcely believe it. It was not a dramatic reveal after escaping the battlefield, nor was it a romantic reveal filled with candles and rose petals. But then, it wasn’t an easy reveal either.

Master Fu was gone. Cat Noir stood by his Lady and was the only person she could share her burden of Guardianship with. It was a difficult time.

Did a part of him wonder why the Guardian chose to train Ladybug rather than him? Yes, the insecure, isolated part of himself did wonder if he hadn’t been good enough. His partnership with Ladybug meant a lot to him and it was hard for him to cope when they had to have secrets between them. Secrets were rarely good in his life. Still, he knew better than anyone else the enormous responsibility the secrets of the Miraculous were, and day by day he understood the gravity of the situation went even further than he had comprehended.

Seeing Master Fu lose his memory was an eye opener. He couldn’t imagine taking on a responsibility knowing one day that it would cost him his life’s memories. Cat Noir sat with Ladybug while she grieved the loss of their Master and processed the guilt she felt over his capture. While he missed Master Fu, her grief went far deeper--like the loss of a close grandparent--and she had to hide that grief from everyone but him. He was there for her when she wept in grief for her future self when she accepted the fact that she would one day forget all of...everything. Her family, friends, him, and herself--though Cat Noir was quick to remind her that Fu hadn’t seemed perturbed in the slightest by his memory loss and his personality seemed unaltered.

It was at that moment Cat Noir felt a fury towards Master Fu for saddling her with this responsibility without telling her the cost. Master Fu was a kind man and Adrien would always be grateful to him for the positive change he brought to his life, but he had his faults. Fu had been a scared kid who didn’t want the burden placed on him and he grew up to be a Guardian who did his best to make up for the mistakes of his youth. Cat Noir could only hope for a better outcome for Ladybug.

A few months after Ladybug became Guardian, she decided they needed to know each other's identity. She’d been reluctant and he could understand why after she vaguely told him about the future where he’d been akumatized. However, one too many occasions arose when their teamwork was hampered by the lack of knowledge and they agreed it needed to be done.

He was right. It was the best moment of his life. Marinette was Ladybug? It was so unsurprising that he couldn’t believe he’d ever believed anything else. 

Cat Noir was Adrien? Yeah, he could understand when Marinette freaked out a little. He did  _ not  _ act at all similar to his alter ego. There was a period of adjustment, it was interesting to watch Marinette alternate between her usual flustered self and her new exasperation at what she called his “cattitude.” Soon, they were settled into a new normal and life was satisfying.

Almost.

See, along with this new normal came  _ other _ new knowledge. The kind of knowledge that made Adrien want to hit his head against a wall.

They’d both been circling each other. They’d had  _ feelings _ for each other! According to Kagami--when she broke up their short relationship because she said she “felt like she was dating her brother”--Adrien should have seen this coming. In retrospect, it was obvious and he was regretting every “my very good friend” he had ever spoken.

They had an understanding that they both still saw each other in a possibly romantic light. Neither of them were dating anyone. Neither of them  _ did a blessed thing about it _ .

Adrien was in agony. Their relationship was even more precious to him than ever and he didn’t want to lose it by rocking the boat and he didn’t want to put any more stress on Marinette than she was already under. What was he supposed to do?!

“Give her camembert.” 

“Plagg!” Adrien groaned.

It was always the same. Adrien was beating himself up trying to figure out how to attempt this new phase in their relationship and Plagg would only ever give him one answer: cheese.

“I’m trying to show Marinette I’m there for her and I appreciate her. I doubt giving her noxious smelling cheese is the answer.” Adrien said as he continued shopping online. 

He’d done roses to death, and Adrien wasn’t fool enough to think he could impress a baker’s daughter with mediocre pastries from another bakery--and something felt wrong about giving her a gift straight from her parent’s shop. “Flowers are out, baked goods are a no--and I can’t to a playlist like Nino! No way would I be able to pull off a good playlist without his input and I can’t give her a gift that comes from him! That’s, like, the cheat codes of wooing!”

“Let the record show, I’m the millenniums old being yet you’re the one using the word ‘woo.’” Plagg snarked.

“I need an actual solution here, Plagg!”

Plagg gave his solution and was persistent. He’d been dedicatedly suggesting Adrien give camembert to his Lady long before the reveal and since then he became incessant. Adrien figured this was Plagg’s apathy showing and his retaliation against Adrien’s “annoying” and frenzied attempts to figure things out with Marinette.

Adrien finally cracked when Plagg spent an hour straight yelling “camembert!” into his ear over and over.

He was under no delusions that this would work, but Adrien ordered a large wheel of the best camembert he could find and wrapped it in a red ribbon. He carried it into school the next day, with everyone giving him looks as though he’d lost his mind--and Adrien had no argument against them.

Adrien came to a stand still when he walked into class and everyone stopped talking and stared at him. Nino, his steadfast bro and wingman, looked at him with utter exasperation and disbelief.

Marinette hadn’t arrived yet and all Adrien could think was: This is it. This is the moment Marinette realizes she can do better. How on earth did she fall for him in the first place?! She’d probably take one look at him and ask Luka on a date. For goodness sakes! Luka was a sensitive, hunky guitar player! And he wasn’t an oblivious idiot that made Marinette question his interest! How could Marinette  _ not _ fall for him?! They would have beautiful, blue eyed, midnight haired children and a musical hamster and they’d all laugh about the fool who tried to woo his girl with smelly cheese!

“Dude.” Nino said flatly. “Please tell me that’s not what I think it is. What have you done?”

Adrien sighed wearily, shoulders and stature rigid with nerves. “It had to be done, bro.”   
  


He was saved from having to explain himself by Marinette’s arrival.

“My Marinette--I mean, hey Lady! No! I mean…” it took all of Adrien’s self control not to hang his head in embarrassment. He almost threw the cheese into Marinette’s hands before any more stupid could fly out of his mouth. “This is for you.”

He silently cursed out his attempt at a sweet line. The entire class stared at them in varying levels of confusion or disgust. Chloe looked at him as though she was realizing she never knew him at all. Everyone clearly thought this was doomed to failure--none more so than Adrien. From the corner of his eye, Adrien could see Ivan--in the most open expression he’d ever witnessed from his friend--give him a sympathetic look of pity.

Adrien did not expect Marinette’s eyes to light up and for her to  _ squeal _ in delight! He was not the only one to literally jump in surprise.

“I love camembert cheese! Oh my goodness, thank you! It’s my favorite but it’s so expensive I only buy it rarely as a treat!” Marinette smiled and leaped forward to kiss Adrien on the cheek. “Thank you, Adrien!”

Adrien was floored to say the least. He wouldn’t have been surprised if he actually found himself collapsed on the actual floor. The rest of the class, even Lila, were clearly flummoxed. He was so thrown that he couldn’t even process what was happening and he completely forgot to enact phase two and ask Marinette out. He never thought he would get this far. He thought that, at best, Marinette would awkwardly accept the gift, doubt his sanity, and then text Kagami to tell her that she was wise to jump ship when she did. He never thought he’d get to the point where asking her out would be the next logical step and now he couldn’t even do it.

He was even more shocked that he didn’t have to.

“Um…would you like to eat lunch together today? Just the two of us?” Marinette shyly asked. “I know a nice cafe not far from here where we could go.”

Adrien’s jaw dropped. He vigorously nodded his head and Marinette smiled brightly at him before cheerily walking to her seat.

No one stopped Adrien as he tensely retreated out of the classroom for a moment.

“How in the name of all that is sane did that ever work?!” Adrien gasped numbly.

Plagg cackled and said from his shirt. “I told you you should listen to me! Who’s the cheese head now?”

“Apparently, you and Marinette.” he said, still dazed. “Don’t tell her I said that. Wait, how did you know she liked camembert?”

Plagg scoffed. “You underestimate me! You know how you like cookies and sweets so much?”

“Well, yeah. Doesn’t everyone?” Adrien asked.

“Most.” Plagg allowed. “But have you noticed that you’ve craved sweets  _ more _ since getting your Miraculous?”

“I just thought that was because I was finally able to sneak some without Father noticing and I was taking them in like a man dying of thirst and finally finding water...wait--what are you getting at?”

Plagg looked way too smug in his little hiding space in Adrien’s pocket. “The Ladybug and Black Cat MIraculouses are all about balance. I love fine cheese and my sugar cube prefers cookies. So, it’s only natural that our wielders should have a craving for the favorite foods of their opposite’s kwami.” 

Adrien jaw dropped and he slumped against the wall behind him. “Oh. My. Gosh. And you couldn’t have warned us?! Or explained  _ why _ you thought romance-by-cheese was a legitimate idea?!”

Plagg shrugged but was still smirking. “It could have tipped you off before the reveal if you were watching for girls with strange, overwhelming cravings for cheese.” Plagg cackled again. “Besides, what fun would that have been for me?”

Adrien couldn’t even muster the effort to glare at him. He caught a glimpse of Ms. Bustier and slipped into the classroom before she arrived.

Nino and Alya were both giving him questioning looks but some of his other friends looked like they’d switched from doubting him to clearly being in awe of whatever flirting ESP they thought he had. Lila had a scheming expression on her face and he anticipated some sort of story about how she won a camembert eating contest or something of the sort to pop up very soon. He pettily hoped that she’d force herself into a corner and have to eat a mountain of the odorous stuff. If Marinette was willing to challenge her, Adrien thought with a smirk, he’d gladly be willing to fund the contest. Maybe a subtle conversation with Kim was in order…

Marinette was watching him as he sat down and she had a knowing smirk on her pretty lips. Great. Her  _ nice _ kwami had probably already long since told  _ her _ !

His future was, unfortunately, looking like it was going to stink. Literally.

But, on the bright side, he did get a date! Adrien smiled like a smug, little cat as Ms. Bustier started role call. 

**Author's Note:**

> So...not really important, but I've been spelling kwami as "kwamii" and I finally looked it up and was told it actually only had one i? Is it right, is it wrong? I don't know. Will I remember this spelling? Meh.
> 
> Thank you for reading!  
> Blessings!  
> ~FaithAndATypeWriter


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